• Petrol 95 rose R3.33 a litre on 7 October, pushing the price in Gauteng past R30 for the first time.

• Soweto driver Morgan Mnisi plans to stop giving lifts, while Cosatu asks the government to use R10 billion for fuel relief.

Petrol has gone past R30 a litre in Gauteng for the first time. The price of 95 unleaded rose by R3.33 on Wednesday, 7 October, from R26.92 to R30.25 a litre.

Morgan Mnisi, a professional DJ from Soweto, drives between Soweto and Sandton. He spends about R400 on petrol for every two to three trips, which adds up to around R1,600 a month.

“I haven’t reduced my trips as yet because the increase has just happened but I’m planning on stopping to give people lifts,” Mnisi said.

He depends only on DJ gigs for his income and says he earns very little. If he has to spend even more on transport, he says he will have to cut down on groceries. He said an extra R1,000 a month would make a big difference.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) wants the government to use R10 billion proposed in the Second Special Appropriation Bill for fuel price relief. It says the money could go through the Central Energy Fund’s Equalisation Fund to ease the pressure.

Cosatu says workers can spend up to 30% of their wages on transport, and taxi and bus fares will go up. It also says petrol has gone up by more than 25% and diesel by more than 50% in the past few months.

The union wants the government to treat the R10 billion as a matter of extreme urgency.

The National Treasury told Scrolla.Africa it is in a closed period and cannot comment on Cosatu’s call for the R10 billion.

• Home Affairs says the Constitutional Court ruling does not give asylum seekers citizenship or blanket legal status, and calls such claims false.

• The Public Servants Association says Home Affairs is at about 35% of its approved staff numbers and wants a capacity check first.

Home Affairs says false claims about the Constitutional Court’s asylum ruling are spreading, and it is taking action.

ActionSA and the Public Servants Association have also raised concerns about the department’s instruction to refugee reception offices to accept asylum applications. The instruction follows a ruling on 7 July that said people cannot be turned away from applying for asylum only because of how they entered South Africa or when they applied.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Home Affairs said “nefarious actors” have launched a large-scale disinformation campaign targeting Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber and other officials. It said claims that the minister, the department or political parties decided to suspend “good cause” interviews for asylum seekers are false. These were interviews in which people without the right papers had to give a good reason before they could apply.

The department says it opposed the case in court, and that it issued its directive only to carry out the binding judgment.

It said claims that the ruling gives asylum seekers citizenship or blanket legal status are also false. It will refer the matter to the Electoral Commission of South Africa under its Code of Conduct on Countering Disinformation, ahead of the 4 November elections. The department said it will keep to its constitutional duties whether or not it wins a case, condemned those spreading the claims, and asked South Africans to check information before sharing it.

ActionSA’s parliamentary chief whip, Lerato Ngobeni, said the party views the directive with “grave concern”. She said the party accepts that Home Affairs is carrying out the judgment, but that the effects could be “disastrous” because the asylum system is already overwhelmed.

She said the directive also requires offices to issue asylum seeker visas once applications are lodged. Her main worry is the time between an application and a final decision, when people could be living in communities for years and become impossible to trace if their claims are rejected.

She asked Schreiber to say how many extra applications he expects, what money and staff will be added, how long decisions will take, how applicants will be registered, checked and tracked, how genuine refugees will be told apart from economic migrants, how the First Safe Country Principle will apply, how rejected applicants will be found and sent home, and whether the government will set up processing centres near the borders.

ActionSA has proposed keeping asylum seekers in centres near the borders while their claims are processed. It also proposed asylum permits that last no more than 12 months before they are reassessed, and a yearly national limit of 10,000 new asylum grants.

The Public Servants Association, which represents most Home Affairs employees, said offices may have to handle many more applications and work extra hours without anyone first checking whether there are enough staff. It said Refugee Reception Officers already do biometric enrolment, adjudication, permit extensions and appeal work. It said the department is at about 35% of its approved staff numbers, according to the information it has. It wants an urgent assessment of expected volumes, processing times, staff, buildings and resources at every affected office. It has asked to meet the department on Friday, 9 October.

It said its concerns are not aimed at asylum seekers, and that it reserves the right to use labour-relations, health and safety and collective bargaining processes if more work is added without proper checks.

This article has been updated for clarity.

• Bloemfontein’s Lameez Seedat was diagnosed with Patent Ductus Arteriosus, a heart condition, at two and plays hockey for South Africa.

• Lameez is selected to tour Hamburg, Cologne, Bremen and Amsterdam with PSI Africa All Stars, but R30,000 is still needed.

Lameez Seedat was two years old when she was diagnosed with a heart condition. Now she is 15, lives in Bloemfontein and has been picked to play hockey in Europe.

The condition is called Patent Ductus Arteriosus, or PDA. A blood vessel that is there before birth did not close after she was born. She was treated for it.

Her father, Shaaid Seedat, said she was diagnosed with PDA when she was two. He said he is proud to see young women given the chance to represent South Africa through sport.

Shaaid called Lameez an inspiration to other young girls. He said her journey shows what determination and perseverance can achieve.

Lameez does not remember much about her heart condition because she was so young. Learning about her journey has made her appreciate her health.

“You might have difficult moments, but they don’t define your future. Where you start doesn’t determine where you can end up. I had a heart challenge when I was young, and now I am healthy. The challenges are part of my story,” she said.

She plays for the U16A team and has already represented South Africa on a tour to Zimbabwe. Now she has been picked for the PSI Africa All Stars European tour. It will take her to Hamburg, Cologne, Bremen and Amsterdam.

The team is expected to train at a high level and play at least six matches against European opposition.

“To me hockey, it is more than just a sport. It is something I love. It has taught me resilience, challenged me, given me an opportunity to grow and shown me the importance of working hard for something you really want,” she said.

She said representing South Africa is an honour.

“I am incredibly proud because it is not just for myself. My family, friends and coaches have been with me through the wins and losses, the early morning training and everything in between,” she said.

Lameez said her family has been a source of strength through difficult times and has taught her to keep believing in herself. She said the opportunity shocked her at first, especially when she realised how far hockey had taken her.

Her biggest dream is to keep representing South Africa and eventually compete at international level. She also hopes to inspire other young girls to chase their dreams, whatever challenges they face. She wants to pursue her education too.

The European tour costs R65,000. So far R35,000 has been raised, which leaves R30,000 still to find.

A BackaBuddy campaign called ‘Help Lameez Take Her Hockey Dream to Europe’ has been launched to raise the rest. It has a target of R30,000, and R5,300 has been raised so far.

Her family is asking individuals, businesses, sporting organisations and the wider community for donations or sponsorship.

• Protesters at Home Affairs’ Durban refugee office accused police of putting migrants’ rights ahead of South Africans’ while hundreds queued to apply.

• In Gqeberha, queues at the refugee reception office began at dawn on Wednesday, as Home Affairs’ new directive takes effect.

A group of South Africans gathered outside the Department of Home Affairs’ Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban on Wednesday demanding that the centre stop operating.

Hundreds of foreign nationals are queuing outside to apply for asylum.

Home Affairs has told refugee reception offices to accept applications from anyone who reports in person and says they want to apply.

The protesters accused the police officers gathered outside the centre of putting the rights of migrants ahead of the rights of South Africans.

The department reportedly issued that instruction on 28 September, following a Constitutional Court ruling on 7 July. It covers people who entered the country illegally or applied late. Being allowed to apply does not mean being granted asylum, because each claim must still be assessed.

The Durban centre has been a flashpoint for months. IOL and the African News Agency reported on 11 September that hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda, had been living on the pavement outside of the centre.

According to media reports, members of the anti-illegal immigration group March and March shut down the centre on Tuesday.

In Gqeberha, long queues began forming outside the refugee reception office at about 4am on Wednesday. GroundUp reported in September that refugee reception offices had been effectively closed to new applicants since the Covid pandemic. It said about 400 asylum seekers had protested outside the Gqeberha office, demanding that offices reopen.

• A change close to payment processing dates can mean you miss the cut-off and get your grant later, Sassa says.

• Wrong details or an account the bank has not activated can get a payment rejected and returned until it is fixed.

If you are thinking of moving your grant to a different bank account, read this first.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says more beneficiaries are changing their payment method and bank details, and some change them often. The agency says you have the right to choose how you are paid. But it warns that frequent changes can put your payment at risk.

Sassa gave two ways it can go wrong. First, if you change your bank account close to its payment processing dates, you may miss the cut-off for the next payment. Your grant is then paid later than expected. Second, if the bank details are wrong, or the new account is not fully activated and verified by the bank, the payment can be rejected and sent back. You will be without your grant until the problem is sorted out.

Sassa also says every bank account change has to be checked, to protect beneficiaries and public money from fraud and identity theft. That takes time and staff, and it adds to queues at service points. It adds that keeping one account helps you build a banking history and makes it easier to get other financial services.

The agency says it knows some people change accounts because of loans or debit orders. It warns that this does not help. Changing your bank account does not cancel what you owe a lender. Sassa urges beneficiaries to get financial advice, and to speak to the lender directly if they are struggling to pay.

Sassa has not said what the cut-off date is.

Listen to this article.

• Thousands of motorists rushed to fuel stations on Tuesday, even though the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources asked them to buy only what they normally need.

• From midnight, 95 petrol costs R30.25 a litre in Gauteng and R29.38 at the coast. Diesel is up R2.84 or R3.24.

Thousands of motorists rushed to fuel stations across the country on Tuesday, 6 October, to fill up before the petrol price went up at midnight.

This is despite a warning against panic buying from the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. The department said motorists should buy only what they normally need, because unusually high demand could leave some stations short.

The new price is the highest on record in Gauteng. 95 petrol now costs R30.25 a litre there, the first time it has passed R30. At the coast it is R29.38, which is what an Engen garage in Gqeberha was charging early on Wednesday. Filling a 50-litre tank before midnight saved about R166.

Diesel went up by R2.84 or R3.24 a litre, depending on the grade. Paraffin, which many households use for cooking and lighting, went up R4.77. At the Gqeberha garage, diesel was R35.43. That is higher than the department’s coastal wholesale prices of R31.08 and R32.03, because retail diesel is not regulated and each garage adds its own margin.

The department says oil is behind the increase. It averaged $101 a barrel over the past month, up from $87.89. The rand barely moved against the dollar over the period.

Even if you do not own a car, you will feel this, because diesel runs most taxis and trucks.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) says it is too early to say whether fares will rise.

The Road Freight Association has warned that freight costs could rise by 4% to 6%, which can push up food prices.

Every R1 added to a taxi fare would cost a minimum wage worker about R84 a month, on the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s measure of four trips a day.

• KwaZulu-Natal police have warned that scammers are using WhatsApp to offer fake police jobs and demanding payments of up to R15,000.

• South Africans lost R2.4-billion to digital banking crime in 2025 as criminals increasingly targeted people through sophisticated scams and other digital methods.

South African Police Service (SAPS) have warned job seekers about scammers offering fake police jobs for R15,000.

The scammers are using WhatsApp to target people looking for work.

KwaZulu-Natal police confirmed the scam on Tuesday, 6 October.

According to SAPS, the scammers are even using a picture of a senior police officer to make the offer look real.

The WhatsApp account uses a photograph of KwaZulu-Natal Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Corporate Services Major General SB Ngcobo.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza said the scammers contact people and promise them jobs in the South African Police Service.

They then send the person an application form.

But the scammers demand R15,000 for the fake job.

“They will immediately forward an application form to the prospective victim. The scammers demand R15,000 for the purported employment opportunity,’’ said Magwaza

Adding that ‘’victims are, however, instructed to pay a deposit of R7,500 with the balance payable upon signing employment papers’’.

Police stressed that nobody has to pay to get a job in the police service.

The warning comes as scams continue to cost South Africans billions of rand.

Figures from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre show that digital banking crime cost victims R2.4-billion in 2025.

That was up from about R1.9-billion in 2024.

Banking app crime was responsible for more than 70% of reported digital banking losses.

Card fraud losses also increased by 18% to R1.7-billion in 2025.

Scams are also a growing problem across Africa.

Interpol’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment found that online scams were the most commonly reported type of cybercrime on the continent.

In some African countries, reports of suspected scams increased by as much as 3,000% in one year.

The KwaZulu-Natal police scam shows how criminals try to win people’s trust.

They are using a real police officer’s photograph and promising jobs to people looking for work.

Police warned people not to pay anyone who promises them a job in the police service.

Anyone who receives a suspicious WhatsApp job offer should report it at their nearest police station.

“Nobody should be asked to pay to get employed in the police; whoever is doing so is committing a crime,” Magwaza said.

• The state says recordings presented in court show Shadrack Sibiya could interfere with witnesses if he is released on bail.

• A second suspect in Monica Dube’s murder faces court while an AKA murder accused has been linked to another Durban killing.

Sibiya fights for bail in sex crimes case: Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya returns to the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday as his bail fight continues.

The 59-year-old is accused of sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl and raping an 18-year-old woman.

The state is opposing bail because it believes Sibiya could interfere with witnesses if released from Kgosi Mampuru prison.

Investigating officer Nokukhanya Ndlovu presented voice recordings as part of the state’s case.

In one recording, Sibiya is said to be heard threatening the father of the 16-year-old girl.

The state also presented a phone recording involving Sibiya’s friend, Bishop Azwihangwi Maumela. He is said to be heard planning to find and speak to the 18-year-old woman who accused Sibiya of rape.

The National Prosecuting Authority is expected to continue its arguments against bail on Wednesday.

Second suspect in Monica Dube murder heads to court: A second suspect arrested over the murder of Economic Freedom Fighters Tshwane secretary Monica Dube is expected in the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old man was arrested by the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team on Tuesday.

Dube was shot dead in front of her family at her Wallmannsthal home in June.

His arrest follows that of Sipho Lucky Mahlangu in July.

Dube’s daughter is said to have spotted Mahlangu at a taxi rank and alerted police.

Mahlangu faces charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Police and the state say he and another person broke into Dube’s home on 13 June, shot her in her bedroom and escaped with her cellphone.

Mahlangu abandoned his bail application and remains behind bars.

Police have not revealed a motive for Dube’s murder or said whether the two suspects are believed to have acted together.

AKA murder accused linked to another killing: One of the men accused of murdering rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane is also a suspect in another murder case.

Eddie Myeza, accused number three in the AKA murder trial, has been linked to the killing of taxi boss Gift Khanyile.

Khanyile was killed at a BP filling station in Mayville in May 2022.

Forbes and Motsoane were killed on Florida Road in Durban in February 2023.

Myeza has also been arrested in cases involving unlawful possession of a firearm and attempted murder.

The state wanted the cases combined.

Prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba told the Durban High Court: “The State intends to lead evidence that one of the firearms relied upon in the Mayville matter is also relevant to the issues arising in the main trial.”

Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi ruled that the cases must be heard separately.

Ferrari linked to Tembisa Hospital probe can be sold: A Ferrari linked to businessman Hangwani Maumela can be sold for at least R9.5-million after the Special Tribunal approved the sale.

The Ferrari SF90 hybrid supercar is among assets linked to an investigation into suspected corruption and maladministration involving Tembisa Hospital.

The Special Investigating Unit asked for permission to sell the vehicle because of the cost of storing, insuring and maintaining it.

The unit said two valuations placed the Ferrari’s value at just over R10.1-million.

Records show it was bought in 2022 for more than R11-million.

Money raised from the sale will be kept in an interest bearing account while legal proceedings continue.

Maumela and the Mhr Maumela Family Trust tried to stop the sale through an urgent application in the High Court in Pretoria.

The court dismissed the application.

The sale does not amount to a final finding of criminal wrongdoing against Maumela.

Family killing delays Khan’s Madlanga Commission testimony: The fatal shooting of Preggy Padayachee has delayed former Deputy Head of Crime Intelligence Feroz Khan’s testimony before the Madlanga Commission.

Padayachee was shot dead in Ekurhuleni on Monday night.

One passenger was seriously injured while another escaped unharmed.

Padayachee was a close relative of Khan.

Hours before his death, he had warned Khan that his coming testimony before the commission would “ruffle some feathers”.

Khan was due to testify remotely on Tuesday but his appearance was postponed.

His lawyer, Vally, said: “We now see that there’s a family member that has been shot. So, the concern, I think, is a legitimate concern and it’s an ongoing concern.”

Vally said Khan’s lawyers had spoken to the Madlanga Commission and would work with it over their concerns.

He said Khan was not in the right condition to testify after the killing.

Kylen Ghirao said it was a difficult time and they hoped the investigation would “unmask the perpetrators”.

• Nyiko Mabasa sells porridge in Johannesburg from 5:30am before her day job, after ingredient costs rose and forced higher prices.

• Mabasa is the sole breadwinner and makes about R2,500 on a good day, before paying for gas, electricity and restocking.

Nyiko Mabasa raised her soft porridge from R10 to R15 a cup, and half her customers walked away.

Mabasa, a commodity specialist at a state owned company, sells mabela soft porridge, sandwiches, fat cakes, pap, mogodu and chicken in the Johannesburg CBD before work. The BCompt graduate from Ennerdale says margarine, milk, sugar, cups and spoons kept getting more expensive, and she was losing money at R10.

After she told her clients about the new price, her customers dropped by 50%. She kept selling, and her old clients gradually returned.

Her day starts at 4am. She takes a bus at 5am, sells from 5:30 to 7:50, then walks to work, which starts at 8:30.

She began selling last year to raise money for her work as an evangelist. “I would ask donations from people, but only a handful will donate and that frustrated me, until I prayed to God and He told me to start selling soft porridge,” she said.

The business now has four employees, including her mother from Giyani. Two sell at other spots, including Bree Taxi Rank, while one helps her prepare food at home. After the morning food sells out, they prepare mogodu, pap and chicken for lunch.

The employees take home R100 a day plus R32 for transport, and her mother gets R200. Mabasa makes around R2,500 on a good day, not counting gas, electricity and restocking.

She is the sole breadwinner, after her husband was shot in 2020. He is still recovering. She has two daughters and an adopted three year old boy.

Mabasa says fuel increases and the high cost of living are making things worse. “I’m not ashamed of my hustle,” she said.

• Khayelitsha parents asked the Codeta Mitchells Plain taxi bosses for a cheaper fare, and learners now pay R15 one way.

• The R15 fare applies Monday to Friday only, and parents worry the fuel price rise could push it up again.

Children in Khayelitsha have been missing classes because their parents cannot afford R880 a month for taxis. Taxi bosses have now cut their fare.

A group of parents visited the taxi bosses at the Codeta Mitchells Plain route in Khayelitsha Site C and asked for a reduced fare. The taxi bosses agreed. Learners now pay R15 one way to Mitchells Plain instead of the usual R22.

Nokuzola Mntingana, 46, a mother of two, said most of the parents survive on piece jobs.

“We are not working. High unemployment is affecting us, and to get something to eat we depend on piece jobs like washing other people’s clothes. So our children sometimes miss classes because we cannot afford R880 a month,” she said.

The parents had tried to avoid the cost.

“We applied to schools closer to our homes because we knew our situation, but the children were placed in schools that required them to use transport. We are grateful that they are paying a lower fare,” Mntingana said.

The lower fare applies from Monday to Friday only. Nombuso Zakana, 40, a parent, said the parents accept that. Her worry is fuel prices, which go up on 7 October. Petrol rises by R3.12 to R3.33 a litre and diesel by R2.84 to R3.24, according to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.

“It doesn’t apply on weekends, and we don’t have a problem with that, but we are concerned about the petrol price increase. It might affect us if they decide to increase the taxi fare, and we will end up paying more than R15,” Zakana said.

She said the taxi bosses have changed how she sees the taxi industry.

“It shows that the taxi industry is not as bad as most of us think. We appreciate what they did because we are parents who lost our jobs and have been struggling to get other jobs. Even those who are working are at least saving money,” she said.

Thembalenkosi Ndzulu, chairman of the Codeta Mitchells Plain route, said the taxi bosses understand that most parents are not working.

“We understand their problems and that most of them depend on piece jobs to eat. That is why we agreed to their request. Sometimes we have children wearing uniforms on Saturdays. That is what we told them: we will charge them R15 from Monday to Friday, on weekends they pay the full price,” Ndzulu said.